All of a Sudden, Rick Perry More Critical of His Controversial HPV Initiative

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One of the more interesting and unlikely episodes of Rick Perry’s long tenure as governor of Texas began in February of 2007, when Perry signed an executive order mandating that all girls receive a vaccination for HPV, a virus that causes cervical cancer, when they reach the sixth grade. There was an opt-out available for families who filled out a conscientious objector form, but that hardly placated the outraged state legislature, which quickly and emphatically overrode the order. At the time, Perry’s former chief of staff Mike Toomey was a lobbyist for Merck, the sole manufacturer of the vaccine, and some critics assumed that Perry’s uncharacteristic bout of big-government progressiveness could be chalked up to performing a solid for his old pal. But Perry insisted that he was motivated solely by his desire to save lives. Then and for years afterward, he insisted that he had done nothing wrong and had zeroregrets.

As recently as last year, during yet another reelection campaign, Perry repeatedly defended his executive order. In a debate in January of 2010, he said he stood “proudly” by what he deemed his “pro-lifeposition.”

In interviews with the press throughout the campaign, Perry never wavered. Not in September:

His third question from the crowd was about an issue that his critics have touched on — his 2007 mandate for girls to get vaccinated against the cervical cancer-causing HPVvirus.

“I signed an executive order that allowed for an opt-out, but the fact of the matter is I didn’t do my research well enough to understand that we needed to have a substantial conversation with our citizenry,” he said. “I hate cancer. Let me tell you, as a son who has a mother and father who are both cancersurvivors.”

Obviously, there’s nothing new about a politician shifting ground to appease voters, or more specifically, about a GOP presidential candidate tacking right during the nomination fight. But Perry’s newfound circumspection on the HPV issue — in addition to his increasingly rigid positions on abortion and gay marriage — is a reminder that, even as he rides into the campaign with enormous buzz and high expectations, he, like everyone else in the race, is bringing his baggage withhim.